Each Moment Has Both Humor And Reprimand Wrapped In It - You Get to Choose! Those choices over time create your life.

It is an silent epidemic! Mothers all over world, especially in industrialized countries like ours, are DROWNING!! Take that in for a moment. Think about what drowning is. Take a deep breath and really be present in this because there is a huge lesson here for you. Drowning is the act of sooooooooooooooooooo much coming in that you cannot even take a simple breath to stabilize yourself. Well, if you are just trying to live your life YOU are most likely drowning. Why? Because if you don’t give yourself a message you automatically default into the program that is around you which means you will start living life the way most people do. That brings to mind the Beatles’ words, ALL THE LONELY PEOPLE WHERE DO THEY ALL COME FROM! We as moms in this day and age are supposed to do it all. Cram more in! “You’re not trying hard enough!” “Don’t you love your children?” “Who needs sleep anyways”, you joke to your friends but inside your body is first whispering, then screaming, I DO!!!!!!!!! This was the case for the generation before BUT many key factors were different. Technology, mass production and improved systems of transportation have all greatly shifted the bar of expectation. This gives us fodder for many comical incidents! I hope you can laugh at yourself, which is ABSOLUTELY VITAL unless you plan on going insane! Go ahead and laugh at how funny the universe is it will help you breath better and catch the lessons that are around us every second of every day guiding us to the land of being joyous with our journey! I call that our JOYOUS JOURNEY, might have some “bumps” along the way but I’m just happy to be playing!

Here is an example that your moms never had to deal with….If you have younger children and you want to (need to) go run an errand (or 50 errands) you have more seat belts buckles to click than a flight attendant on a 747!!! I counted one time that I had 17 clicks before we could leave because once they were all in the car one of them needed to go to the bathroom. Everybody out. Everyone back in (again!;)) An hour later we are on the road….but now later than before. Sound familiar to anyone? (Take a deep breath here 🙂 – I had to so you might need to too!)

So I invite you to come here as many or as few times that your heart wishes. Know that if you feel stuck in your life the support system we are building here will support you and if someone has an issue by showing up you might be able to help them unlock something for them. That is how the universe works! It’s a VERY cool place and we are all card-carrying members! Don’t let your membership go to waste!!!! As one of my favorite mentors Dr. Wayne Dyer says, “Cemetaries are filled with people with their music still in them.” SING MY BUTTERFLYMOMS, SING!!! If you have found this wonderful little blog that is not advertised anywhere that means you are on your path. You have asked for a change in whatever way works for you and this site is part of your answer. Come share, ask, learn, play, hear, love and giggle here!!! It’s fun and honey it’s free!!! 🙂

Great big hugs,
Mariaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

🙂

PS I am in awe of how this dream of mine has unfolded. I started writing EVERY morning for at least 15 minute because a “Wishcraft” group (based on the work of Barbara Sher with the same name) I’m in, asked me to. I LOVE my assignment because writing is one of the ways I get to be totally me. Being a mom of five does not really call for a lot of writing in general. Well in the first six days of writing every day I got just over 100 people coming to the site. The 7th day alone I got 70 and the 8th day (which was yesterday) I got 80!!!! This might seem small to you but this is my heart’s calling and in that moment of deep gratitude all I could do is cry for joy and awe. I thank you for showing up here and ask you to share this site with your friends and with yourself often! LOVE YOU!

First, yesterday we had more hits than EVER before, almost 70 in one day! Thank YOU for helping this precious information get out to the people who can use it. Ultimately I’ve even gotten emails from men and women with no children who get something out of it and that is wonderful! No matter what we are all human beings who want to be seen, heard and understood. Now onto the good stuff y’all….

There is a woman, let’s call her Caroline, that I have run into several times and each time she sounds incredibly stressed. She asks for unreasonable things (like impossible deadlines), calls last minute for things, always speaks very fast, is always rushing/late, complains a lot, and seems like she is out of breath most of the time. Caroline is an ADRENALINE JUNKY. That usually means that there is a lot of drama at home. After an incredible weekend at the Solstice Healing Center I felt extra grounded around her because she felt so ungrounded.

Be Open To Life's Little Unexpected Adventures

Our relationship has always been professional so I did not know anything about her except of how she appeared to me in the world. Yesterday when she rushed in I stopped her, hugged her, looked into her eyes and shared that she seemed extra stressed out. Caroline burst into her story which described a woman who lives in a very mentally abusive relationship. The example she gave were stomach turning. I listened with an open heart. I believe she felt heard because she calmed down signifcantly and no longer seemed to be in flight or fight mode.

Caroline had given her power to someone else. Even the creative outlet she had, the one thing that made her happy her husband had treated to “cause more trouble that she could ever imagine” if she even just MENTIONED it to him again. Let’s call her husband Patrick. Caroline lives in fear.

I shared that her children were watching and one day they would imitate the same behavior. True enough she said that had already happened. Her daughter is in her mid-twenties bi-polar and weighs over 300lbs “because of the abuses she suffered by her dad”. (breathe now. you are safe.)

Here is the pivotal point of our own development. At this point in the process we can do one of three things, judge, ignore or learn. Those are the options. This woman is going through her own development. It is her journey. I let her know that it was not ok to put up with that kind of treatment, that no one deserves that, that this planet is not about being miserable but ultimately this is her choice. “YOU CAN LEAD A HORSE TO WATER BUT YOU CANNOT DROWN IT TRYING TO MAKE IT DRINK.”

Also if you run into someone like that in your life one of the options is to learn from it so the question to ask is: “What has this situation, woman, man, child come to teach me?” A key element here is not only to ask but also to be open to getting the answer in whatever form it comes. Many of us either don’t or when an answer comes it is not in the form we expected so we reject it waiting for the answer we do want……I know you never do that right 😉

Ahhhhhhhh, fellow ButterflyMoms, the world is such a wonderful place! As I’m writing this the birds are singing in the trees, the sun is shining, my girls are playing with their toys, I’m writing in my precious writing nook surrounded by our family’s art supplies and some of my favorite books, I am breathing, I am happy. I feel grounded because I’m doing my heart’s calling.

Today as you walk, run, crawl, sit, lie, roll, fly, ride on your journey today notice all the messengers who come into your life, even those for a brief moment. Our tendency is ignore or judge, today be open to learning and sending more love into the world.

Paying attention to the simple things that are around you. Nurture your sense of wonder!

Yesterday we opened up a big can of worms. For some people it is information they have never received. For others it is old hat. If you are looking to break out of your shell that holds us back and no longer serves us, as our ButterflyMom Corinne asked, there are billions of ways to do so. Here are a few in no particular order…

1. STEP BACK FROM YOUR LIFE. Pretend that you are a visitor from another planet observing your own life without attachments. What is working for this person? What is not working? Where are the passions? Where is the energy sucking? Take a week to accomplish this. Do a little every day for 10-20 minutes. The information you get by simply asking yourself is magical!!!

2. GO TO YOUR LIBRARY/BOOKSTORE. The actor Will Smith was doing an interview on how he raises his kids. He said that there is not a problem in the world that some human being has not gone through and written about. Capture the wisdom of that lifetime by reading about it. Some of the best authors that have transformed my life are: Louise Hay, Wayne Dyer, SARK, Anthony Robbins, Caroline Myss, Tama Kieves, Jack Canfield, Byron Katie, Don Miguel Ruiz, Napolean Hill, Eckhart Tolle, Jerry & Esther Hicks, Lisa Nichols and Barbara Sher.

3. OTHER OPTION. If reading is not your cup of tea or you want some supplemental materials I highly suggest going to www.youtube.com and looking up these and other authors. There you will find their talks in video for FREE! You will be amazed at how much wondeful information there is out there. I especially love starting my day off with one of these clips which leads me to my next point.

4. START OFF YOUR DAY WITH A STRONG INTENTION. If you were going on a trip, most times you would want a destination. If you did not have a sense of direction and just drove wherever the car took you day after day you would be pretty disoriented and probably zoned out too because you were not engaged in the process. Well most of us live our lives that way. We get up with no intention. Change that and your life will blossom.

5. ENDING YOUR DAY. End your day with a sense of gratitude and peace. Let go of what has not served you. Brush your teeth. 😉 Take deep wonderful free breaths. Feel your feet as you walk towards your bed. Be thankful of how you can move and realize how very amazing your body is. It one of the most magnificent things you have ever experience and most of us just complain about how we don’t compare to the ematiated “super” models. Be present as you go off to bed. Do this for at least a week and you will see a vast difference in how your life unfolds.

These are just some simple suggestions that you can easily weave into your life. You are your own CARETAKER. How well are you taking care of you? This is not a guilt question. It is a reality one. This whole process is about unfolding. There a many adventures to be uncovered. You are safe in all you do. It does not happen over night and that is better because then we get to savor the little moments that make up our life.

Wishing you a vibrant, awake, adventurous day!

Great big hugs,
Mariaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

🙂

PS Please send to your friends, leave comments and come back tomorrow for more insights.

I’m trying out new FEATURES (which means new ways of getting you the answers you want in ways that are fun and mentally edible 😉 Feel free to send me your questions and each (or so) I will answer them. Just keep in mind that if you are going through it so is a quarter of the planet of women so ask. You can’t beat the price! 😉

So our very first question comes from a fabulous Mama who lives in New England. She recently lost her Mama which creates a whole shift in our reality and safety in the world as a mother. Our full LOVE goes out to both of them! Here is her question…”Safety. As an adult I feel safe in my skin & my ability to take care of myself. I do, however, have this child inside me who was not always safe and created this hard shell as a way to cope. Unbeknownst to me the shell suppressed my ability to take chances, to trust myself and my judgment and to act upon the brilliance others see in me. Now, however, I’m no longer in need of this hard shell once created to protect myself. Unfortunately, it’s become instinctual and unlearning or bringing to consciousness this type of coping after 30 + years of “practice” is at the very least challenging. I no longer feel scared or threatened, but somehow blocked. How does a person reprogram?”

First, Corinne, thank you for being the first ButterflyMom to ask a question!!! YAY!!!!!!!!! Now onto a brilliant response ;)…This is something that a lot of us who reach “middle age” grapple with. (I know that term “middle age” is about as appealing as getting your first AARP membership request in the mail!!! :)!) When we are born our souls come into a world knowing who we are because we simply are, with no labels, mindless, free! When we enter our game world (we all call Planet Earth) we are immediately stamped with a name, that almost never reflects who we really are. We are then taught to conform to the rules of whatever family we have entered, most of the time it is into worlds that believe that children should be seen but not heard. Almost every child is then MOLDED into their family’s (tribe’s) beliefs regardless if they are in alignment with whom the child is. We get punished (mentally, physically and emotionally) for not following the rules of the family. Think about how DANGEROUS it is that the people who are supposed to LOVE you the most will to these things to you if you don’t conform. We are small and vulnerable and we do what we need to do to survive which, by default, means we abandon our REAL SELF. (take a deep breath here – maybe seven!) What happens is that as a coping mechanism we start bonding with items, places and things so that we feel a connection to something that is as strong as the connection we lost, the connection with ourselves. Throughout history people have called this the search for the Holy Grail which is traveling the entire world looking for something that is inside of us all along.

This might be hard for some to hear but an example of this bonding to things to replace the lost self can be most often seen when children have an attachment to a particular stuffed animal or blanket and FREAK OUT when they think it’s lost or someone has taken it from them. If we were to think about it, that kind of ATTACHMENT with an object has to come from somewhere. The stuffed animal is just a stuffed animal but to the child he/she identifies it as a part of themselves (MY teddy bear). Again, this is SUCH a common scenario in our society that most don’t even notice it. This carries on into adulthood when we work at jobs that don’t fulfill us so that we can get MORE STUFF to fill the whole. In the eighties and ninties (back in the 1900’s!!! ;)) especially there was a trend to link women with shopping. It was common to see bumper stickers with something like, SHOP ‘TIL YOU DROP and store would have signs that said YOUR HUSBAND CALLED AND SAID YOU CAN BUY ANYTHING YOU WANT. Most of us reading this probably remember that era. It was all about mindless buying that caused most of us to have CRAZY amounts of clothes, shoes, acessories…etc!!!! Now there are shows on TV, one is called, HOARDERS that show this in an extreme manner. The bottom line was that we were all trying to fill that empty feeling inside ourselves.

Because we have arrived at a point in our human history where we can produce goods more cheaply and ship it faster our “trying to fill in the empty hole inside ourselves” has definitely hit an all-time high but the act of losing oneself in childhood a human rite of passage for millions of years. Not many people question it because it has been people’s “normal”. Thankfully we are in a point in human/spiritual evolution where we are not willing to accept a half-lived or false life. It’s not something you can FAKE. You can try but your life will never feel right, so, many try to stop feeling all together with the help of binging, drinking, cheating, drugging, eating, etc., etc., etc., all because they have associated feeling with pain instead of seeing it as a useful tool. (who’s with me on this!)

What you are experiencing Corinne is what many people come to realize when they hit the part of their life where they have done what society tells us to do (degree, house, mate, job/career, kids) and we still do not feel whole. We don’t feel whole because we left ourselves out of the equation. The good news is that the journey you took to find yourself (when you were right there under your own nose 😉 gave you TONS of amazing life experience that you can use. The universe has a sense of humor. 😉 YOUR FEELINGS ARE GOOD let them flow BABY(did you get that pun?)!!!! Killing your feelings is like killing the messenger. You can do it but THE MESSAGE/INFORMATION they were trying to give you is still there!

WHAT NOW? Come back to tomorrow’s blog and find out! 🙂

As always if you have enjoyed reading this share it with your friends. There are a lot of drowning ButterflyMoms out there who just need a little information so they can re-set their course to happiness. 🙂

I am taking the three year Healer Program at the Solstice Healing Center in Medway, Massachusetts and this is the last weekend of the first year. If you are looking for wonderful place to go to do energy work, this place is the real deal. There are people from my class who come from five different states to attend and lucky me I live right next door! Attending this year was a huge example of the universe providing the solution and a convenient one too. You can’t beat the 10 minute ride to my life’s dream! 🙂

I have wanted to write a book literally for over 20 years!!! I wish that was an exaggeration but it’s not. 🙁 I never let go of the dream though. It just needed time to perculate. 🙂 I have been gathering wisdom, knowledge, and experiences so that I can be a better writer, mentor, mother, friend, daughter, wife, busines owner….(you get the idea). Then I created a Wishcraft group based on the book written by Barbara Sher with the same name. Those are VERY powerful at manifesting what you want in your life. When I lived in San Francisco, during the fabulous DOT COM era, I used to have two or three going. Bottom line, done properly, they work beautifully. From the group I got the courage to write the blog which will lead to my book. You are part of my dream so I thank you from the bottom of my heart for visiting this blog! YOU ARE AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂

I have been getting a lot of private emails from ButterflyMoms who love reading the posts. There are a lot of mommies out there thinking that they are the only ones who are drowning. The good news/bad news is that you are not drowning. You are simply focusing on things that are not in alignment with your core being. In order words it is feedback from the universe that you are off your track and so you are experiencing a BUMPY ride. We live in a FEELING universe with INSTANT FEEDBACK. When we don’t like what we are hearing many of us fight or ignore what we know is our next step. Like me, many of you have put off your dreams. Here is a exercise that will help you get some clarity…

FIRST EVER (or if you live in MA you would say “EVAH” ;)) BUTTERFLYMOMS BLOG EXERCISE…( feel free to applaud from wherever you are :)) Side note: Much of my writing involves GIGGLING. Yes, you heard me correctly, GIGGLING! It is my instant feedback mechanism (that I did not actually realize until I started writing this- sooooooooo cool!) from the universe! Giggles when they come from your childlike self help connect you back to yourself. They also give your body more oxygen without your even knowing it. Giggle often and create giggle situations whenever you can. 🙂 GIGGLE ON BUTTERFLYMOMS!!!!

Ok, so back to the FIRST EVAH BUTTERFLYMOMS EXERCISE (YAY!)…Take three minutes RIGHT NOW. Create your “WHEN I” list by answering the following question: WHEN I_________________________then, I will live my life the way I really want to live it. You will have a lot of answers. Allow the answers to come and write them all down.

We will review this exercise tomorrow. If you feel like sharing your answers send them into to me either privately or on the blog. Other ButterflyMoms love reading your posts (as do I) so please always leave feedback.

“No Mama. I’m the Mama and you’re the baby,” my 2 year old proudly announced.

Ahhhhhhhh, here’s your life check in. How’s it going? Is it how you imagined it was going to go? 😉 This is the $10 trillion question (it used to be $10 million but I figure with inflation and all 😉 ).

How are you today? How are you feeling? This week, after meeting with my wishcraft group I have completed my commitment of writing for at least 15 minutes every day. It has felt glorious!!! I do have a lot on my plate with a real estate business (I’m the broker), a dry cleaning business I run with my husband, four kids (from 2 – 14) and all that entails ( I KNOW for most Moms I don’t have to describe what that means! ;)) My aunt is also visiting from London right now and so I’ve been trying to be the hostess with the mostest. It’s definitely a full platter so even though I’ve been writing about heart stuff I have “fallen off the wagon” as it were in terms of taking care of myself. I don’t know if it’s like this for you but I’m the low hanging fruit when it comes to cutting out when there is simply too much to do. When I run out of time I simply “make” more time by cutting out sleep. This week I returned to that scenario. It was not that getting up early was the problem, it was that I had my aunt and mom sleeping over here for the past week (and then my brother who came for a couple of days to say good-bye before he goes to Iraq) so it has been challenging to go to bed early knowing that these are SUCH precious memories that I don’t want to sleep through! I sacrificed sleep this week.

Ok, so I got great photos of the events (because things don’t really happen unless you take a photo of it don’t cha know! 😉 ) but THE CRASH came yesterday when I completely lost it at the grocery store. Yes, I was that woman that you tisk, tisk at because she is screaming at her kids. And the universe in its never-ending humor-seeking mode contributed to the parody by having bags rip and fruit rolling down the aisle and machines getting stuck and make EVERY bagger disappear! It really was a missed filming opportunity for a whole segment of America’s Funniest Videos.

I share this as a gentle reminder that we are all human. We all have different capacities but the society we live in, in 2010, we are expected to do more, remember more, recall more than even our mothers did when they were our age. Before the invention of the car most people only ever even travelled 20 miles from their original place of birth. After the car was invented it went to 100 miles. The pace of the world has GREATLY increased. We have more numbers and passwords and codes than ever before. We see more people in one day than our great grandmothers met in their whole lifetime so be kind to yourself. Take care of yourself. When something ICKY happens ask what you have to learn from it. It will either be a blessing in disguise or if you play the incident again and again in your head it will be another weight that will sink your soul. The good news is that YOU get to choose and this powerful ButterflyMoms blog just helped gentle remind you that you do have that choice.

Great big hugs,
Mariaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

🙂

Let’s see what you ButterflyMoms are doing out there. Take a moment to be heard…

Yesterday we ended with the question, “Do you trust the universe?” If the word universe is not your think you can substitute it for what fits for you (just like in life, it’s really all about what feels right to you – remember that because it is a key element to leading an aligned life.)

Well, do you? Do you trust the universe? Do you trust that if you jump a net will be there for you? I must admit that I’m still learning this one myself. This concept of SAFETY is something that is made up in the mind. We are ALWAYS SAFE, even if we were to die today, we are always safe. Take a moment, right now, to think how would you live your life knowing that you are always safe. Feel it. What would it look like? What would it sound like? How would you think? How would you be in the world? Close your eyes for a moment and just be in that place. Take in the information you get. Accept how good it feels. If it does not feel good there is a good chance you are blocking the exercise so there is a possibility that you feeling so unsafe that you cannot even do a pretend exercise. REALLY KNOW that you are safe. This is fun so go back and play with it again. This is when you would do well to remember the little kid inside of you! What a gift it is! Access that gift now.

Regardless of what you are inundated with by marketers and advertisers YOU ARE ENOUGH! YOU are at the perfect place for what you need to learn right now. Whatever you need will appear even when it’s icky. (good news/bad news 😉 ) Whenever you run into someone who you react to strongly (especially in judgement) that is a message straight from the universe just for you. It is telling you that you are doing the same thing to yourself, judging, in some way that does not serve you.

CONNECT with Your JOY!

Today when you feel the Land of Should creeping in kindly show it the door. Pay attention to what you are feeling that very moment. It is your guidance system. By focusing on that you will get closer to your soul’s purpose which is joy. The alternative is to live in the Land of Should. Each moment we make that choice and those choices form the life we live. Are you happy with your life’s choices?

Yesterday I wrote about calling your energy back. That sounds like a good idea but what does that mean? It means that much that is happening in, around and to us is not registering. Most of us live unconsciously. In that state we are vulnerable because we are not FULL of our essence, of who we are. Most human beings spend their life listening to what others think about them or trying to fit into a mold that they “think” fits for them. This act means that while you are trying to be someone else no one is being you. Your energy is not grounded because you are not there. (You know, the lights are on but no one is home scenario 😉 ) The good news is that no matter how disconnected you are you can ALWAYS find your way back to you. Even more good news is that YOU never holds a grudge. It’s just always waiting for you to come home to where you are aligned with your essence.

That is all fine and dandy, Maria, but how do I get from here to there. Well, awareness is the first step. Starting to realize that you are living unconsciously and giving your energy away to things and people and situation you don’t believe in or even like is the very first step. Then comes the “YA, BUT” phase. We all know that one. 😉 I would LOVE to follow my heart BUT…..blah, blah, blah! This is when our STORIES come. The story of why you can’t or why it’s hard because of A, B and C.

Look, we are on planet Earth to play, love, learn. Many people believe that in hearts but their minds have taken over through the gift of fear and they are operating in “YA BUT I GOTTA PAY MY BILLS” mode. As we say jokingly to my son, “Is that how you want to go through life?”, REALLY?

This is a feeling universe. Whatever you come across will give you feedback. If it gives you joy you are on the right path. I was born in Portugal and have lived in Japan so I have been exposed to many different cultures. Much of the American culture is about forcing your way, fighting for your dream. This is not the way that you get there. I’m not saying it’s easy but it’s not about fighting, it’s about letting go and trusting….ahhhh, take that in for a moment. Do you trust the universe?

More about that tomorrow! 🙂

Side note: If you like what you are reading turn your friends on to it. Together we are helping make this a happier planet and YOU are a part of that magnificent process!

Fitting in is one of the key factors as we are growing up. Being a mom puts a whole new dynamic on the term because we have other souls in the mix to protect and teach. I have recently experienced the “icky” feeling of being rejected from a group of mommies. It can send you right back to feeling like you are not “enough”just like you did when you were in junior high or high school. (breathe) :)! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

In a moment’s notice how you feel about the whole day can go south, very south and your mind starts trying to protect you by “figuring out” what is wrong with them or how you can avoid being hurt again. This is a pattern many of us are familiar with because that is all we knew. Here is another pattern I recently read for my coursework that has helped me. It comes from the book “Anatomy of the Spirirt” by the wonderful Caroline Myss. You attract what you need to into your life depending on what you are sending out. She gives the example that was very similar to mine and says that if you get forced out of a job or group it is because it’s in your highest good to move on, partner! We, as human beings don’t like change and we tend to “cling” a bit longer than necessary to situations that no longer serve us. It is NOT about the group of people liking or not liking or us being enough or not being enough. It is about energy and it’s time to move on. Think about how much energy you have put (can we say “wasted”) over the years “thinking” about why those people rejected you. It is like burning your energy dollars for the day, every day.

Today, make a fresh start! Part of why Mamas are so tired is that we give our energy to places that don’t reciprocate the energy back. It’s time to call back your energy! It’s done in simple ways that will have you feeling more grounded and happy. Tomorrow we will talk about how to do that…

Today is Sophia’s Birthday. Had she lived she would have been 5 today. Because she is the inspiration for ButterflyMoms, I wanted to reach out today to you, specifically, today and remind you of the gift of loss. The gift that loss gives you is the ability to see the value in the now. If things lasted forever they would have little value. Think about that. Most people who go through any loss say almost the same exact thing, “I wish I had”. In your own life there are many, many, many, many, many, many things that would make you thankful. You just need to know what they are, remind yourself. Savour what you have for when it is gone you will miss it. You will miss it less knowing that you lived it fully. May this serve as a gentle reminder from the universe to re-align with your passion by following the path of loving the simple things in your life.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SOPHIA!!!!!!!!! PARABENS!!!!!!!! I hope you really do the exercise above to celebrate Sophia’s birthday the way she celebrated her entire life…full of love and more love, enjoying each moment for what it is, an opportunity to connect with others through her heart.

Check Out... THE HAPPY ME RETREAT...

Join Transformational Life Coach, Maria Salomão-Schmidt for a unique 6 day/5 night retreat to Azores, Portugal, where you'll experience the culture, taste and feel of this absolutely stunning sub-tropical island. The Azores are a magical, volcanic land, full of natural, raw beauty, a temperate climate and endless amazing activities. Truly a paradise, and under 5 hours from Boston! There will also be plenty of time for respite and retreat amongst the beautiful fruity orchards of Quinta Minuvida, our home for the week. It's Time For Some Deep Happiness...